


Faces

by spockandawe



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Gen, Loss, Monsters, Tragedy, Unhappy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-06
Updated: 2013-02-06
Packaged: 2017-11-28 11:04:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/673685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spockandawe/pseuds/spockandawe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The thing took his wife on their wedding night</p>
            </blockquote>





	Faces

On what should have been the happiest day of my life, my wife was stolen. We had been walking to our marriage ceremony without a thought that anything could go wrong, and paused for one short second next to the Spirit Oasis. In that small moment, spidery limbs shot from the water and pulled her down before I had a chance to react. All that remained was a laughing reflection on the surface of the water, flickering through face after face as it faded to invisibility.

I dove into the spirit world, chasing after the kidnapper as quickly as I could manage. Koh, the face stealer. I frantically tried to remember if I'd ever told her about it. If she just knew enough to keep her expression still, I felt certain that I'd manage to save her. I must have said something. Surely she knew. I followed the Koh's traces and prayed desperately to any spirit that might listen.

As I approached its lair, I stopped and took a deep breath as I smoothed my expression into blankness. I moved cautiously down the damp steps, but my heart still pounded with urgency. It felt like far too long to reach the bottom, and I could see nothing among the deep shadows. As I stepped into the cavern I called out to Ummi.

There was a rustling in the darkness.

Koh twisted out of the shadows, but my eyes went straight to the slim, fragile body still pinned in its arms. I demanded that he return her. Without a word, it stared at me. Its mouth twisted into a cruel smile and its face shifted into one I knew far too well.

"She was doing so well, Avatar... but she was so very happy to hear your voice."

I gasped for breath, managing only by the barest margin to hold my face still. Koh laughed mockingly and dropped Ummi's body at my feet. I knelt to gather her into my arms, but she still lived. She fought against me. Her nails left red welts as she clawed frantically at the blank expanse of skin that stretched where her face should have been. I stumbled back and buried my face in my hands.

I fell to my knees. My shoulders shook. My whole body. I couldn't hear past the ringing in my ears. My face. No expression. Focus. I couldn't let it take us both. I looked up at Ummi where she twisted on the ground. Koh writhed into the space between us. My wife's face smiled and laughed at me as the spirit collected her body into its monstrous arms. Koh slipped away into the darkness as I struggled to keep control of my body. I stood up and stumbled toward where he had disappeared, but his laughter sounded from behind me.

"Goodbye, Avatar. Let us meet again another time. Perhaps you can bring me... a new face."

Hearing Ummi's voice like this, I had to close my eyes for a moment to keep myself from losing control. The rustling of his body faded away, but the laughter remained and echoed throughout the chamber. I stumbled toward the stairs that would take me out of this hell, but I'd be back. If I failed a thousand times, I would keep returning. Even if it took me an eternity, I would someday save my wife.


End file.
